1987 New York production
The Broadway production of Starlight Express opened on 15 March 1987 at the Gershwin Theatre, where it ran for 761 performances, closing in January 1989. This version featured extensive revisions to the plot and the addition and omission of several musical numbers. www.playbillvault.com Starlight Express Creative Team * Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber * Lyrics by Richard Stilgoe * Director Trevor Nunn * Second Director Dion McHugh * Designer John Napier * Makeup Supervisor Nancy Powell * Choreographer Arlene Phillips * Assistant to Choreographer Ilse Challis * Dance Captain Denny Shearer * Skating Coach / Consultant Michal Fraley * Stunt coordinator JP Romano'''Fraley, Michal: Skating the Starlight Express (2011), ISBN: 978-1-4583-7432-5 * Orchestrations by David Cullen and Andrew Lloyd Webber. * Musical Direction and Supervision by David Caddick. * Musical Director '''Paul Bogaev * Sound Designer Martin Levan * Lighting Designer David Hersey * Produced by Martin Starger and Lord Grade in association with MCA Music Entertainment Group, Stage Promotions (Four) / Strada Holdings, Weintraub Entertainment Group, inc. Production Background Fearing a backlash against his success as a 'Brit on Broadway', Lloyd Webber became convinced that Starlight ‘should never go anywhere near’ Broadway.Unmasked, Andrew Lloyd Webber The plan instead was to take the same approach as he had done with Jesus Christ Superstar: release a concept album then present a touring production in arenas across America. The concept album album was recorded, but RUG producer Brian Brolly ultimately accepted a lucrative offer from Broadway producer Jimmy Nederlander to ‘shoehorn Starlight into one of his Broadway houses’. The Broadway production amassed an advance box office of over $5 million. Starlight Express began previews at the Gerswin Theatre on 24th February. The opening night was scheduled for February, but was delayed twice to give the creative team more time to perfect the moving parts of the set. The production eventually opened on 15th March, after 22 previewsFraley, Michal: Skating the Starlight Express (2011), ISBN: 978-1-4583-7432-5. New Material for Broadway By 1987, Starlight Express had been running in London for almost 3 years. As they approached the second production, the creative team took the opportunity to develop the material – both revising the story and songs and adapting the show for an American audience. The changes they made affected every aspect of the show, from plot, music and characters to set and costume design and choreography. In his playbill note for the production, lyricist Richard Stilgoe joked that there were ‘eight crates of rewrites’ somewhere in Manhattan.Richard Stilgoe's playbill note, Broadway 1987 Characters * C.B. was renamed the Red Caboose * Belle became Memphis Belle * A fourth Rocky was introduced, after the film "Rocky IV" had been released in 1985 * The British Engine was re-named from "City of Milton Keynes" (an in-joke about British Rail) to "The Prince of Wales". * The Second and Third class Sleepers were removed – with "Pumping Iron" moved, the performers were already onstage as Joule, Volta and Wrench Plot/Structure * Rather than racing simply for the accolade "Champion Engine of the World", the trains race for a prize, the "Silver Dollar". * The "Entry of the National Engines" was moved to the beginning of the show, in the place of the orchestral Overture. * "Pumping Iron" was moved from after "Freight" to after "AC/DC", reframing the song as Greaseball making a direct challenge to the appearance of Electra. * The race structure changed from 3 heats with 1 winner each in the final, to 2 heats with 2 winners each in the final. Rusty didn't race in the heats at all, making Belle, originally his race partner, redundant (This decision would lead to Belle being cut from the show in later productions). * For the "Downhill Final", Rusty appears transformed, like Cinderella at the ball. Rusty even introduces himself as "The Starlight Express". None of the other characters recognise him, not even Control. However, this gave the actor playing Rusty at most 3 minutes to change costume between one of the biggest songs and the most athletic race number. Also the costume was not particularly distinctive in the fast-paced scenes, and while it had fine details the overall effect was not sufficient to justify the effort needed. The disguised Rusty idea was scrapped early on the Broadway run and reverted back to Rusty entering the Final as himself. * During the "Downhill Final", Caboose steals the Silver Dollar. At the end of the race, Rusty disappears looking for Pearl, however the ensemble accuse Rusty of having stolen it. After "Only You" the ensemble catch up with him and he consents to being searched if the opposition have to do likewise. This led to a lengthy slapstick chase ("The Chase"), which concludes with Caboose crashing into Greaseball and Electra. This extra scene was cut during the show's run, replaced with the simpler story of Caboose, Electra and Greaseball crashing during the race. Musical Numbers * "Engine of Love" was used when Rusty brought the Coaches in near the beginning of the show. * Pearl was removed from "A Lotta Locomotion", so it was sung only by Dinah, Buffy and Ashley. * "He Whistled at Me" was replaced with a ballad, "Make Up My Heart." * "There's Me" became a duet between Caboose and Dinah. * "The Rap" was replaced by the "Hymn to Victory/Silver Dollar" as the original plot-driven rap, mainly concerning Rusty's predicament, was irrelevant. Instead the new plot point of the "Silver Dollar" was strengthened. * "No Comeback" was cut. Instead, Electra joined Greaseball and Caboose in "One Rock 'n' Roll Too Many", rearranged with choreography that was more slapstick and less sexual innuendo-laden. * "Only He" (Pearl's solo) was replaced with an expanded "Only You" (duet) between Pearl and Rusty, using the same melody. Set Design The Broadway budget was also much larger than the budget in London. As the New York Times noted, Starlight Express was 'beefed up' for America – the ‘limbo-like’ setting of the London production was replaced by a ‘miniature toy-land America festooned with landmarks, from the Golden Gate Bridge to the New York skyline’ that ‘lit up like a pinball machine’.NY Times Review, March 1987 To build the set, 120,000 pounds of steel, 7,000 sheets of plywood, 22 miles of fibre optics, 1,500 feet of fluorescent tubing were required. Costume Design The increased budget also allowed the production to fully realise John Napier's costume designs. Many characters were completely re-designed however, with an overall bigger, squarer feel to the costumes - closer to the mechanical, and further from the human elements of the characters. Greaseball Dinah L84 1.jpg|Original London designs Greaseball Dinah US87 Robert Torti.jpg|Revamped Broadway designs Rusty Coaches US87 Engine of Love 2.jpg |Rusty's main costume Rusty Finale US87.png|Rusty's "Starlight Express" costume Running Order Cast Recording A cast recording was not made of the Broadway transfer. However, the production was preceded by a concept album that features versions of many of the songs recorded by American artists. Reviews and Media Coverage * LA Times Interview January 1987 -with Barry K. Bernal * NY Times March 1987 - harsh critique, particularly to the changes from London. * LA Times March 1987 - Lacking Charm * Christian Science Monitor March 1987 - paid attention to the performance. Trivia The Gershwin Theatre has been home to the long-running hit musical "Wicked", as has the Apollo Victoria theatre in London, home of the original London production of Starlight Express. Cast Replacement Swings: Dorie Herndon, Harold Yi, Roger Kachel, Marvin Engran, Terri Homberg, Dawn Marie Church, Marty Simpson, Janice Lorraine Holt, Jennifer Prescott Booth Singers: Melanie Vaughan, Paul Binotto, Lon Hoyt, Mary Windholtz Control: Braden Danner Mother: Melanie Vaughan Video Gallery Finale Us87 fisheye 1.jpg Rusty Coaches US87 Engine of Love 2.jpg Dinah Caboose us87 Playbill 1.jpg Category:productions